The invention relates to a method to remove damaged silicon from a monocrystalline silicon surface.
It is known to form a thin silicon lamina by implanting ions through a first surface into a silicon wafer, creating a plane of maximum implant damage. The wafer is bonded to a receiver element at a first surface, then, through heating, a lamina is cleaved from the silicon wafer at the previously defined plane. A second surface of the lamina is created by this cleaving step. There is damaged silicon at the newly created surface. In fabrication of some devices from this lamina, such as SOI devices, this surface may be treated by a high-temperature anneal and/or by chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) to remove or repair this damage.
For some applications, however, these methods of repairing or removing damage may not be appropriate, cost-effective, or sufficient. There is a need, therefore, for an effective, robust, cost-effective way to remove damaged silicon from a surface created by exfoliation, or damage at a surface created by some other means.